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Fresh off victories over Dartmouth and Harvard, the Bulldogs begin the second half of the Ivy League schedule with a home match against Brown. Yale enters the week tied for first in the conference with an Ivy record of 6-1 and a 12-4 overall mark.

Last Time Out

Yale extended its win streak to four and won both Ivy matchups last weekend with sweeps of Dartmouth and Harvard. In the match against the Crimson, first-year Ellis DeJardin had a season-high 17 kills and Kate Swanson added a team-high 21 digs for the Bulldogs. Frances Arnautou had 35 assists, 15 digs and four kills. Gray Malias (15) and DeJardin (14) also reached double digits in digs. Samantha Bray had 10 kills on 18 swings and hit .389 in the victory over the Big Green. Kathryn Attar and Kelley Wirth both had eight kills.

DeJardin Named Ivy Rookie of the Week for Third Time

First-year outside hitter Ellis DeJardin was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the third time this season, the league office announced on Monday. DeJardin smashed a team-high 12 kills in a sweep of Dartmouth on Friday, and then followed up the next day with 14 digs and a season-high 17 kills in a win over Harvard. The San Gabriel, Calif., native leads the team and a ranks fifth in the Ivy League in kills per set at the midway point of the conference season.

Spain and Bray Among Blocking Leaders

Chiara Spain and Samantha Bray both rank in the Ivy League top 10 in blocking. Entering the weekend, Spain ranks fifth in conference play 1.24 blocks per set average, while stands 10th with a 1.04 average through seven Ivy matches.

Home Court Advantage

Since the start of the 2013 season, the Bulldogs home record is 49-9 overall and 34-4 against Ivy League teams. Yale opened the 2018 home schedule with five straight wins.

League Leader

Senior libero Kate Swanson enters the weekend leading the Ivy League with 5.22 digs per set average in conference play. Swanson, the team's captain, has 274 digs on the season and is averaging 4.98 digs per set overall.

The Bears enter Saturday's match with Yale 1-6 in league play with an 8-9 overall record. Brown dropped a five-setter to Harvard last Friday, and fell 3-1 to Dartmouth the next day. Sabrina Stillwell leads the team in kills and digs. Yale won 3-0 at Brown on Sept. 22. Kelley Wirth had 15 kills and Kate Swanson had 22 digs for the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs Welcome Back Cat Dailey Minyard ' 10

Former Yale volleyball standout and Ivy League Player of the Year Cat Dailey Minyard '10 who helped lead the program to a conference title and went on to play professionally is back with the Bulldogs as a volunteer assistant coach. Minyard transferred to Yale in 2008 after two seasons at Cal-Berkley and went on to earn All-Ivy First Team honors her two years with the Bulldogs. In 2008, she was named an AVCA All-Northeast Region Honorable Mention in addition to being named unanimous league player of the year to begin a stretch of six conference titles in a seven-year stretch for the Bulldogs. More details.

Get to Know the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs' website features a brief video with each student-athlete on the volleyball team. Visit the team's roster webpage and select a name to see the bio video. The videos were produced by the team's associate head coach Kevin Laseau.

Bulldogs to be Featured on ESPNU

The Bulldogs will be featured on national television later this fall. Yale's home match against Princeton on Oct. 26 will air on ESPNU at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.

Ivy League Preseason Media Poll

Yale earned three first-place votes and were picked to finish second this season in the conference's inaugural volleyball preseason media poll. See complete poll here.

Welcome Back

After winning its sixth Ivy title in the last eight seasons, Yale returns five All-Ivy selections, including the league's defensive player of the year (Kate Swanson) and rookie of the year (Kathryn Attar). Swanson and Attar both were also awarded spots on the first team. In addition, Frances Arnautou and Tristin Kott earned second-team honors, while Kelley Wirth was a honorable mention.

Swanson Named 2018 Captain

Senior libero Kate Swanson was named team captain for 2018. The Rancho Sante Fe, Calif., native was named 2017 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Ivy First Team. In each of her first three seasons, her digs per set average has increased from 3.76 digs in 2015 to 4.64 this past season.

Appleman Leads the Way

Yale head coach Erin Appleman, in her 16th season, has a 280-108 overall record at Yale with a 171-44 mark in the Ivy League. She is joined by associate head coach Kevin Laseau (15th season at Yale) and assistant coach Brendan McGourn (5th season at Yale) and volunteer assistant Cat Dailey Minyard '10 (1st season).

Up Next

The Bulldogs close out their home stand with a matches against Princeton on Friday at 6 p.m. and Penn on Saturday at 5 p.m. The match against Princeton will also be aired on ESPNU.